Daniel Farke has not had many bad days as Leeds United boss - but Tuesday was one of them.
His much-changed XI should have wiped the floor against a youthful, inexperienced Sheffield Wednesday side. Seven internationals started for the Whites while the average age of the Owls' team was 21, including four 20-year-olds and five teenagers. Wednesday were there for the taking.
It was a missed opportunity for players on the fringes of Farke's to stake a claim. Nobody seized their moment. No one can now knock on Farke's door at Thorp Arch and be demanding to start when Newcastle United come into town on Saturday.
There will be plenty of changes to the line-up at the weekend and rightly so after the Hillsborough debacle. It was nowhere near good enough. Too many players were not at the races and let Farke down.
Much has been spoken and written about the Whites' transfer business. Ten new faces have come through the door and United have spent around £100m on building a side capable of competing in the Premier League. They have ticked most boxes and there is strength in depth in most areas.
But the transfer market closes on Monday at 7pm and there is still more work to be done to give Farke the different tactical options he carves. More attacking firepower is required on the front line if United are to score enough goals to stay clear of trouble.
TalkSPORT presenter Jeff Stelling suggested the Whites needed to bring in a "marquee signing" following the capture of James Justin from Leicester City. “James Justin has been a very good player, good enough to win England caps, but he’s struggled for form in the last couple of seasons, I think it’s fair to say," said Stelling. "I’m not having a go at Justin, but what I think Leeds desperately need, is a marquee signing – they’ve really splashed the cash, they’ve bought a lot of players in for seven, eight, nine, 10 million pounds.
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“I think they need to bring a Jack Grealish type figure in, someone who you know, the fans can really get excited about. And however well Justin does, the fans are not going to get excited about signing a full-back.”
It is hard to argue with Stelling's assessment. Their most expensive recruit so far since securing promotion was Noah Okafor from AC Milan for £18m. Not an insignificant transfer fee, by any means, but it's pocket change to some of the elite European clubs.
We are heading into the final days of the window and it feels like United could do with making a big transfer statement to lift the mood among the fan-base, particularly after two defeats in a row. A big finish to the window could make all the difference in the scrap to stay up.
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